Insurance Speak

This week, we revisit a conversation with Todd Shasha of Travelers about how boat owners can protect their vessels from catastrophic weather events.

As the world's premiere athletic event, the Olympic Games tend to be a joyous and celebratory affair. However, the sheer scope and scale of the games leaves them open to the unexpected, and the history of the Olympics is not without violence. This episode of Insurance Speak features Chloe Gordge, head of Marke's terrorism portfolio in London. Gordge talks about the unique challenges of curbing political violence in Paris during the upcoming Olympic games.

Andy Moss and John Ellison of Reed Smith discuss insurance and cyber risk management practices for car dealerships in the wake of the CDK Global cyber attack.

Insurance brokers who operate in the environmental liability space, and companies with potential pollution exposures, tend to be up-to-date on the research and risks linked to "forever chemicals," or the cancer \-causing compound per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS or PFASs). These chemicals remain popular in American manufacturing. While litigation history is still being written about PFAS, environmental insurance brokers can look to the contaminant for clues as to how future pollution liability claims may play out. What new pollutants are they concerned about? One that comes to mind for Emily Bourdeau, vice president of the environmental practice within NFP's Specialty division, is 6PPD-quinone. Used to strengthen tires, this chemical was recently found to be toxic after it breaks down from wear-and-tear and ends up in public waterways.

Lucy Straker and Jim Rizzo of Beazley break down the risk management and insurance implications of California's Senate Bill 553.

Within the U.S. property and casualty insurance sector, Florida stands out as one of the first states to recently experience skyrocketing claim costs, shrinking coverage availability, and a crisis in premium affordability. The Sunshine State also has been deeply impacted by nuclear verdicts as well as insurance fraud. Making matters worse: Severe weather is a relatively common occurrence there. In this episode of "Insurance Speak," NSI Insurance Group CEO Oscar Seikaly shares his unique perspective on Florida's recent legislative efforts aimed at shoring up its volatile insurance market.

David Cummings, partner in the Insurance Recovery Group at Reed Smith, joins us to discuss how a recent influx of gaming addiction lawsuits may impact the insurance industry.

Office romance can be dicey. The prospect of coworkers dating is so rife with liability concerns, that some companies simply forbid it. Nonetheless, on-the-job romances are increasing in 2024, according to the workplace consultancy SHRM. On this episode of Insurance Speak, Chris Williams, the employment practices liability product manager at Travelers, shares potential scenarios in which close interpersonal interactions become a legal and liability minefield.

John Fitzgerald, Lynne Weeks and Dan Curran of Amwins join us to discuss risk in the hospitality industry as peak season approaches.

Just ahead of RISKWORLD 2024, the annual risk management convention happening this year in San Diego, RIMS, the risk management society, announced the winner of its annual Risk Manager of the Year Award. Calls went out in the fall for this long-standing honor, which aims to raise the profile of the risk management profession as well as the outstanding programs that honorees have implemented within their organizations. This year's winner is Steve Robles, the recently retired assistant CEO for Los Angeles County. On this episode of Insurance Speak, Robles talks about the massive responsibility of managing risk for one of the largest counties in the U.S., along with what kept him up at night as a risk manager, and what he found most rewarding about the job.